Alfeed a



A. A. SHEPARD.

Gate.

No. 238,166. Paten ted Feb. 22,1881.

INVENTOR AT UBNEYS N.PEIERS, FHOTo-LITHOGRAPHER, WASNXNGTUN u G UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ALFRED A. SHEPARD, OF FREDERIOKTOWN, OHIO.

GATE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 238,166, dated February 22, 1881. Application filed November 8, 1879.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, ALFREDA. SHEPARD, of Fredericktown, in the county of Knox and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Gates and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the construction and operation of the same, reference being had to the annexed drawings, making a part of this specification, and to the letters and figures of reference marked thereon.

Figure 1 of the drawings is a representation of a perspective of my gate. Fig. 2 is a plan view of the same, and Fig. 3 is a detail view of the latch-post. I

My present invention relates to that class of gates which are adapted tobe set at different degrees of elevation for the purposes of clearing snow and of allowing small stock to pass under the gate.

My improvement relates to the construction and arrangement of certain parts of a gate be longing to this class, as will be fully set forth in the following description, and particularly pointed out in the claim.

In the drawings, A designates the gate, B the latch-post, O the hinge-post, and D a vertical bar which is hinged to post 0, and to which the gate A is connected so as to have a vertical adjustment.

The upper hinge is composed of a butt, E,

' attached to the vertical bar D, and a pintle,

E, secured to the post 0, while the lower hinge is formed by two staples, G G", se cured to the post, and a plate, H, connected with the bar D, and formed with recesses h h, into which the two staples fit when the gate is ina closed position. When, however, the gate is swung to either side, the plate H is freed from one of the staples and bears only upon the remaining staple, thereby forming a convenientlyarranged right-and-left hinge. The vertical barDis formed with a rack or series of notches, (1, around which passes a tie-rod, I, and with a longitudinal groove, (1, into which project the ends of the gate-rails a. lfhe ends of the tie-rod I are secured to the vertical cleats or braces a at the center of the gate, by which means the gate is supported by the bar D.

For the purpose of givin g additionalstrength to the gate, I provide the same with diagonal braces a extending from the upper end of the vertical braces a to the lower end of vertical cleats or braces c farranged, respectively, at or near each end of the gate, as shown.

of two witnesses.

In order to adjust the gate to the desired elevation, it will be raised slightly, so as to admit of the tie-rod being freed from the rack, and then set in the required position, and again sustained by depressing the tie-rod upon the rack, as before. The ends of the rails move readily within the groove 61, and by connecting the tie-rod with the central portion of the gate there will be no danger of its saggmg.

In addition to preventing the gate sagging,

the tie-rod I, by being secured at the center of the gate, allows the same to be readily raised and lowered from a position at or near its center. In raising the gate, the operator lifts the gate andtie-rod with the same movement until the desired height is reached and the tierod is caught by one of the notches d. In lowering the gate, the operator raises the same a sufficient distance to free the tie-rod from its supportingnotch, and then lets the gate gradually drop (the tie-rod being held away from the bar D) until the desired point is reached; when the tie-rod again catches upon the proper notch and supports the gate, as before described.

K designates the latch-bolt, which is suspended by hooks L from one of the rails a, and arranged so as to projectinto a groove, 0, in the latch-post. This construction admits of the gate being raised or lowered while closed, the latch being free to slide in the groove. In opening the gate, thclatch is swung back by hand so as to clear the post, while in closing the same the latch will strike against a beveled side of the post, and thus be forced back until the gate is in a closed position.

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

In a gate adapted to be vertically adjusted, the combination of the grooved notched bar D, rails a, braces a a and tie-rod I, centrally secured to the gate and brace (1, whereby the gate may be readily adjusted from a position near its center and held at anydesired height and operated without sagging, substantially as described.

In testimony that I claim the above I have hereunto subscribed my name in the presence ALFRED SHEPARD.

Witnesses A. GREENLEE, WILLIAM A. MILLER.

IOC 

